Lead-tainted toys seized at Port of Savannah

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WJCL) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations at the Port of Savannah seized over 1,000 children’s toys due to high amounts of lead paint.

The CBP office seized 1,320 Wel-Bilt Little Diggers, a child’s backhoe-like digger found in some sandy playgrounds. The merchandise had an estimated sell value of over $38,000.

The merchandise arrived into the Port of Savannah on Oct. 28, 2014 directly from east Asia. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requested that CBP officers examine the shipment. During that examination, preliminary field tests on the samples found the toys to contain unacceptable levels of lead paint.

Samples were shipped to the CPSC laboratory, which confirmed the dangerous levels of lead paint.

Working with CPSC investigators, CBP officers seized the shipment under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.

“The seizure of these extremely dangerous imported toys illustrates how the tremendous teamwork and cooperation between the Consumer Product Safety Commission and U.S. Customs and Border Protection protects the American public from potentially serious health and safety issues,” said Lisa Beth Brown, the CBP Port Director for the area port of Savannah.

Effective enforcement of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act prevents harmful products from entering the country and it protects children from injury and death.

CBP at the Port of Savannah continues to work with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and other agencies to combat the illegal importation of unsafe goods that pose significant health and safety risk to the American public.

Consumers should call CPSC’s toll-free hotline at 800-638-2772 or visit CPSC’s website to report dangerous products or to learn about product recall information.